Index rod for filing cabinets



Sept. 26, 1950 F. A. SAAF ETAL 2,523,722

INDEX ROD FOR FILING CABINETS Filed Jan. 29, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept.26, 1950 Filed Jan. 29, 1949 F. A. SAAF ETAL INDEX ROD FOR FILINGCABINETS 2 ShetQ-Sheet 2 I rod head;

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDEX ROD FOR FILINGCABINETS Fritz A. Saaf and Charles M. Abrahamson, Aurora, 111.,assignors to All-Steel Equipment Inc., a corporation of IllinoisApplication January 29, 1949, Serial No. 73,612

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to index rods used in filing. cabinets forslidably holding index sheets or separators in place within the cabinet.

Index rods conventionally are threaded at the rear ends to screw intotapped openings at the rear of the drawer, or the index rod head may bethreaded to screw into the drawer front. The threads frequently. becomeworn or possibly stripped so that it becomes: impossible to properlysecure the rods in place.

Furthermore, in some of. the more modern styling. of filing cabinets andofiice equipment, there is a trend away from round handles, and yet ifnon-circular heads are provided for the index rods to match the otherhardware on the filing cabinet or drawer,- it is difficult, if notimpossible to so orient the head with respect to the threads that whenthe rod is screwed firmly into place the head will be squared and notaskew with respect to the other fittings.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide asimple means for eliminating the conventional threadedarrangement forlockingan indexrod in place so that a square or other non-circular. headmay be employed on the index rod to harmonize with the other hardware.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel means forreleasably locking the index rod head to the drawer front and to guidethe rear end of the index rod into an opening provided in the drawerback.

Further and other objects and advantages will become apparent as thedescription proceeds and the description is read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a filingcabinet drawer equipped with a preferred form of this invention and withparts of the drawer broken away to better reveal the constructionalfeatures;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the index rod with itsmethod of support at the rear and the releasable locking arrangement atthe front;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the index Fig. 4 shows the slot inthe drawer front which receives the index rod head; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the novel guideway embossed into thedrawer bottom for guiding the index rod into the opening in the drawerback.

The invention may be variously embodied within the scope of the'appendedclaims, and it should be understood that the description which followsismerely a compliance with Section 4888 of the Revised Statutes inrevealing a preferred form of the invention.

The drawer used to illustrate the invention is shown generally at Illand comprises a front I I, a back [2, sides [3, and a bottom Itchanneled at t5. toprovide the usual valley for the downwardly extendingtabs It of index sheets or separators ll. The tabs are pierced at E8 toreceive the index rod generally indicated at l9, which consists of a rod29 slightly chamfered at its rear end as shown at 2! (Fig. 2), andhaving a reduced portion 22 at its front end adapted to be receivedwithin a recess 23 in the index head 24. The reduced portion 22 of therod 28] may be threaded for engagement with the head or it may be swagedor otherwise united with the head.

The head 24 is preferably die-cast of any suitable metal such asaluminum, and has a crosshead portion 25 provided with flanges 26 whichconform in general shape to the non-circular opening 21 in the drawerfront H. The body of the head 24 is provided with a square recess 28above the cross-head 25 to accommodate a leaf spring 29, which isclamped between the rod 20 and the head 24 when the two are united.

On one side of the index rod head, preferably. on the bottom side, is aslotsfl which in width'at least equals the gauge of the metal front ll,so that when the rod with the head is pushed rearwardly through theopening 27, the slot 30 will engage the marginal wall of the opening 2'!opposite to that engaged by the spring 29 and thereby hold the index rodreleasably clamped against longitudinal movement.

Inasmuch as the head 24 can enter the opening 21 only when thecross-head 25 and leaf spring '29 are properly aligned with respect tothe opening 21, the head is necessarily properly oriented whenever it isproperly locked in place.

To release the head from the drawer front, it is only necessary to liftup on the head so that the lower marginal wall of the opening 27 movesout of the slot 30, whereupon the head and rod may be freely movedoutwardly.

Obviously, the slot 21 could be of any suitable configuration as long asthe index rod head is of mating shape, and so also could the slot 39 belocated on the sides or top of the index rod head as long as theresilient means urging the head into locking engagement with the drawerfront is opposed to the slot.

When the index rod I9 is thrust home into locked position, it is verydesirable that the rear end of the rod be properly engaged so that itwill not rattle in the drawer, and so that the index or separator sheetsi! are freely movable within the channel I5. To this end, the rearportion of the drawer bottom is embossed with a guideway generallydesignated 3| which smoothly guides the rear end of the rod into anopening 32 provided in the rear wall I2 of the drawer. This opening isformed by punchin out a lip 33 which may be bent upwardly or downwardlyto apply the desired resilient pressure upon the rod 20 while supportedon the guideway 3| and within the opening 32.

The guideway 3| is V-shaped in general configuration, and rises from thefloor 33 of the channel I5 with two wings 34 and 35, each of which liesin a plane that is inclined with respect to both longitudinal andtransverse axes of the drawer bottom. In other words, as shown in Fig.2, the wing 34 of the guideway inclines upwardly towards the rear, andas shown in Fig. 5, both wings 34 and 35 are tilted downwardly andinwardly to form a V-shaped valley or path leading to the openin 32 inthe drawer back.

The intersection between the wings 34 and 35 of the guideway is roundedout as indicated at 36 to better guide the rod into the opening 32.Also, it should be noted that in forming the wings 34 and 35, theportions 31 and 38 which adjoin the wings are somewhat rounded tofacilitate the embossing of this configuration in the drawer bottom.

We claim:

1. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom, and back, thecombination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openingsin the drawer front and back, and having a head for engagement with thedrawer front, said head having means for releasably engaging the drawerfront to hold the index rod against longitudinal movement, and meansassociated with the drawer bottom for guiding the rear end of the indexrod into said opening in the drawer back, said last named meanscomprising a V-shaped guideway embossed in the drawer bottom adjacentthe back thereof, and providing sloping walls rising from the drawerbottom, each of which lies in a plane that is inclined with respect toboth the 4 longitudinal and transverse axes of the drawer bottom.

2. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom, and back, thecombination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openingsin the drawer front and back, and having a head for engagement with thedrawer front, said head having means for releasably engaging'the drawerfront to hold the index rod against longitudinal movement, meansassociated with the drawer bottom for guiding the rear end of the indexrod into said opening in the drawer back, said last named meanscomprising a V-shaped guideway embossed in the drawer bottom adjacentthe back thereof, and providing sloping walls rising from the drawerbottom, each of which lies in a plane that is inclined with respect toboth the longitudinal and transverse axes of the drawer bottom, andmeans on the drawer back for resiliently urging the index rod towardsaid guideway.

3. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom and back, thecombination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openingsin the drawer front and 'back and having a head for engagement with thedrawer front, means including an upwardly inclined wall rising from thedrawer bottom and intersecting'the back wall at an angle of less thanfor guiding the rear end of the rod to the proper level for passingthrough the opening in said back wall, said opening in the drawer backbeing substantially tangent to the intersection of said inclined walland said drawer back, and releasable means for holding the index rod inoperative position.-

FRITZ A. SAAF.

CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 533,988 Hall Feb. 12, 1895818,090 Hunter Apr. 17, 1906

